How to Involve Your CEO in Cyber Security

It’s time to tackle this cyber game. The threat of malicious cyber activity increases every year. Industry statistics are in full bloom, and business and technology experts have access to useful data, statistics and strategies to help develop a formidable cyber security strategy.

Why is our top C-Suite executives not major players in the cyber game?

A 2015 study by the National Association of Corporate Directors found that only 11%of respondents believed that their boards possessed a high-level understanding of the risks associated with cyber security. This percentage is alarming, and it’s a major concern when you compare it to other statistics such as:

By the year 2020, it is projected that 99% of business vulnerabilities exploited will continue to be ones known by security and IT professionals for at least one year.

In other words, the same cyber security game continues, and it will not go away. 75% of businesses say their boards of directors are not involved in cyber security oversight.

Breaches and data loss press headlines have lasting negative consequences and lower a business’s reputation. It ultimately affects the bottom line. Change this statistic by analyzing and reflecting on these 4 statements and incorporate them into your business cyber security strategy.

Determine if your top executives are fully engaged in the cyber security strategy.

It takes a team to eliminate cyber threats. Your company network has an unlimited capacity for holes and breaches. Security is not simply a CIO, CSO, or IT department issue. It’s an issue of all employees in the business. Once you have a strong team looking for potential threats, the process of detecting and eliminating these threats will be successful.

Perform a regular risk assessment analysis.

You can’t protect what you don’t know. Where are the potential holes and security breaches in your business? A security risk assessment explores all security aspects, including hardware and software, employee awareness training, and business processes. This approach enables the business to look at their infrastructure from the attacker’s perspective, and patch the holes as they’re exposed. After the analysis, enforce an action plan to ensure that the risk assessment process is in place. This should be a meticulous plan that provides a quick and seamless recovery from a cyber attack.

Know what makes you a target for attacks.

Simply put, everything in a business is hackable. Nothing is impenetrable, but a business can make it difficult for a hacker to take advantage of its valuable assets. With the increasing popularity of IoT devices and internal networks, the opportunities are widening and holes are enlarging for potential attackers in the system. Your risk assessment analysis will give you a comprehensive view of what makes you a target.

Provide your security team with all the tools and resources to prevent a data breach.

It’s important to have the right tools and resources available to defeat a cyber attack. Often top executives fear the high IT costs that comes with an actionable plan. But, when your costs after a cyber malware attack or breach rise into the double or triple thousand dollar digits, investing before the breach can clearly be the better investment for your money.

The time is here. It’s time to play the cyber security game. CEOs no longer can take for granted the traditional security means like corporate firewalls, virus filters and anti-spam technologies to protect against malicious outsiders. Change your way of thinking. Cybersecurity can no longer be strictly the responsibility of your IT staff. Tackle cyber security and form a game plan that transforms your business into a cyber security leader.